Saturday, April 9, 2011
Mandolin Dan: Don't Play Chicken With Our Country
Mandolin Dan: Don't Play Chicken With Our Country: "Don't Play Chicken With Our Country"
Don't Play Chicken With Our Country
Dear Government Leaders in Washington,
Congratulations on making an April 8 deal that avoided shutting down the U.S. Government. Thank you for keeping our government open.
But....
You should be ashamed of yourselves, for the way you have behaved and the way you mishandled your responsibilities. You threatened the ability of hundreds of thousands of workers to faithfully serve the people and national interests of our country. You put at risk the international reputation and national well-being of the United States.
You have different goals -- that's fine. You have disagreements -- that is part of our democracy. You use many tactics to serve the agenda you wish to advance -- of course! But act responsibly -- do your job in a professional manner. Try to work things out before deadlines, rather than after. And don't you ever -- ever -- try again to treat the American people and their government as a football that you can kick around as much as you want.
Congratulations on making an April 8 deal that avoided shutting down the U.S. Government. Thank you for keeping our government open.
But....
You should be ashamed of yourselves, for the way you have behaved and the way you mishandled your responsibilities. You threatened the ability of hundreds of thousands of workers to faithfully serve the people and national interests of our country. You put at risk the international reputation and national well-being of the United States.
You have different goals -- that's fine. You have disagreements -- that is part of our democracy. You use many tactics to serve the agenda you wish to advance -- of course! But act responsibly -- do your job in a professional manner. Try to work things out before deadlines, rather than after. And don't you ever -- ever -- try again to treat the American people and their government as a football that you can kick around as much as you want.
Friday, March 25, 2011
Presidential Proclamation on the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire
I can't help but be deeply moved by this:
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On March 25, 1911, a fire spread through the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan. Flames spread quickly through the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors -- overcrowded, littered with cloth scraps, and containing few buckets of water to douse the flames -- giving the factory workers there little time to escape. When the panicked workers tried to flee, they encountered locked doors and broken fire escapes, and were trapped by long tables and bulky machines. As bystanders watched in horror, young workers began jumping out of the windows to escape the inferno, falling helplessly to their deaths on the street below.
By the time the fire was extinguished, nearly 150 individuals had perished in an avoidable tragedy. The exploited workers killed that day were mostly young women, recent immigrants of Jewish and Italian descent. The catastrophe sent shockwaves through New York City and the immigrant communities of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where families struggled to recognize the charred remains of their loved ones in makeshift morgues. The last victims were officially identified just this year.
A century later, we reflect not only on the tragic loss of these young lives, but also on the movement they inspired. The Triangle factory fire was a galvanizing moment, calling American leaders to reexamine their approach to workplace conditions and the purpose of unions. The fire awakened the conscience of our Nation, inspiring sweeping improvements to safety regulations both in New York and across the United States. The tragedy strengthened the potency of organized labor, which gave voice to previously powerless workers. A witness to the fire, Frances Perkins carried the gruesome images of that day through a lifetime of advocacy for American workers and into her role as the Secretary of Labor and our country's first female Cabinet Secretary.
Despite the enormous progress made since the Triangle factory fire, we are still fighting to provide adequate working conditions for all women and men on the job, ensure no person within our borders is exploited for their labor, and uphold collective bargaining as a tool to give workers a seat at the tables of power. Working Americans are the backbone of our communities and power the engine of our economy. As we mark the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, let us resolve to renew the urgency that tragedy inspired and recommit to our shared responsibility to provide a safe environment for all American workers.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2011, as the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I call upon all Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of those who have been killed due to unsafe working conditions.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
# # #
100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE TRIANGLE SHIRTWAIST FACTORY FIRE
- - - - - - -
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A PROCLAMATION
On March 25, 1911, a fire spread through the cramped floors of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory in lower Manhattan. Flames spread quickly through the 8th, 9th, and 10th floors -- overcrowded, littered with cloth scraps, and containing few buckets of water to douse the flames -- giving the factory workers there little time to escape. When the panicked workers tried to flee, they encountered locked doors and broken fire escapes, and were trapped by long tables and bulky machines. As bystanders watched in horror, young workers began jumping out of the windows to escape the inferno, falling helplessly to their deaths on the street below.
By the time the fire was extinguished, nearly 150 individuals had perished in an avoidable tragedy. The exploited workers killed that day were mostly young women, recent immigrants of Jewish and Italian descent. The catastrophe sent shockwaves through New York City and the immigrant communities of Manhattan's Lower East Side, where families struggled to recognize the charred remains of their loved ones in makeshift morgues. The last victims were officially identified just this year.
A century later, we reflect not only on the tragic loss of these young lives, but also on the movement they inspired. The Triangle factory fire was a galvanizing moment, calling American leaders to reexamine their approach to workplace conditions and the purpose of unions. The fire awakened the conscience of our Nation, inspiring sweeping improvements to safety regulations both in New York and across the United States. The tragedy strengthened the potency of organized labor, which gave voice to previously powerless workers. A witness to the fire, Frances Perkins carried the gruesome images of that day through a lifetime of advocacy for American workers and into her role as the Secretary of Labor and our country's first female Cabinet Secretary.
Despite the enormous progress made since the Triangle factory fire, we are still fighting to provide adequate working conditions for all women and men on the job, ensure no person within our borders is exploited for their labor, and uphold collective bargaining as a tool to give workers a seat at the tables of power. Working Americans are the backbone of our communities and power the engine of our economy. As we mark the anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire, let us resolve to renew the urgency that tragedy inspired and recommit to our shared responsibility to provide a safe environment for all American workers.
NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim March 25, 2011, as the 100th Anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire. I call upon all Americans to participate in ceremonies and activities in memory of those who have been killed due to unsafe working conditions.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this
twenty-fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.
BARACK OBAMA
# # #
Sunday, March 20, 2011
My favorite places for musical items - and music
Where do you go to get your musical instruments and gear? I have tried a variety of stores, catalogs, and web sites over the years, from places around the world, and these are my favorites:
Elderly Instruments is a national treasure. The folks in Lansing, Michigan offer a treasure trove of instruments, strings, straps, and other items, as well as CDs and music books. Always friendly, always knowledgeable.
Musician's Friend is where I go for my electric instruments, amps, and gear. Great selection, good pricing, a catalog to salivate over -- and don't forget to check out their Stupid Deal of the day!
The House of Musical Traditions is a wonderful folk music store in Takoma Park, Maryland -- well worth a visit if you're ever in the area, but they also sell via their web site. Lovely people who really care about what they sell -- I enjoyed buying my new Eastman 504 mandolin from them.
And then there's the music. These days, I buy almost all my music via the Web, in digital format. I never go anywhere without my iPod classic, which holds my entire music collection (Side question: When did "old-fashioned" mean that I prefer an iPod classic to the Touch or Nano?), but I rarely buy from iTunes. Instead, I rely on two main sources:
Amazon MP3 offers a good (and expanding) selection, with easy downloads that have never failed me. Easy, fast, and often a little cheaper than iTunes. Make sure to check out their Daily Deal (most at $3.99 or $2.99) and Free Song of the Day.
eMusic is simultaneously frustrating and inspiring. They may not always have what your looking for, but you will instead invariably stumble on music/musicians that you love, but would never have found were it not for eMusic. I dislike some of their recent changes to their subscription packages and methods of pricing, but continue to find great deals on great artists/albums/songs. Worth exploring, to see if the gain is worth the occasional irritations.
Elderly Instruments is a national treasure. The folks in Lansing, Michigan offer a treasure trove of instruments, strings, straps, and other items, as well as CDs and music books. Always friendly, always knowledgeable.
Musician's Friend is where I go for my electric instruments, amps, and gear. Great selection, good pricing, a catalog to salivate over -- and don't forget to check out their Stupid Deal of the day!
The House of Musical Traditions is a wonderful folk music store in Takoma Park, Maryland -- well worth a visit if you're ever in the area, but they also sell via their web site. Lovely people who really care about what they sell -- I enjoyed buying my new Eastman 504 mandolin from them.
And then there's the music. These days, I buy almost all my music via the Web, in digital format. I never go anywhere without my iPod classic, which holds my entire music collection (Side question: When did "old-fashioned" mean that I prefer an iPod classic to the Touch or Nano?), but I rarely buy from iTunes. Instead, I rely on two main sources:
Amazon MP3 offers a good (and expanding) selection, with easy downloads that have never failed me. Easy, fast, and often a little cheaper than iTunes. Make sure to check out their Daily Deal (most at $3.99 or $2.99) and Free Song of the Day.
eMusic is simultaneously frustrating and inspiring. They may not always have what your looking for, but you will instead invariably stumble on music/musicians that you love, but would never have found were it not for eMusic. I dislike some of their recent changes to their subscription packages and methods of pricing, but continue to find great deals on great artists/albums/songs. Worth exploring, to see if the gain is worth the occasional irritations.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Tab Talk
Am I the only person in the world who actually likes the Samsung Galaxy Tab?
Now let me be honest here -- I want the Apple iPad 2. I also want the Motorola Xoom. I'm confident that I will want the Blackberry PlayBook and the HP TouchPad once they are fully available. I like new gadgets (like many of you).
But "want" doesn't equal "need" -- and I am truly comfortable with the Galaxy Tab. In fact, I am more comfortable with it than I was with the first iPad. It's simply a better fit for my smallish hands -- I love that I can easily hold it in one hand while tapping, writing (I love Swype!), or reading while eating lunch. Android is way behind Apple for apps, but has more than enough to meet my needs and desires. It is ultra-easy to carry around, but large enough for use.
The Galaxy Tab is by no means perfect -- it desperately needs the ability to stream Netflix and other video. It needs to be faster. And it needs to be LESS EXPENSIVE -- to successfully compete with the iPad, Android tablets need to sell for less than the iPad. This morning, I saw the Tab offered for $249.99, but that's with a 2-year contract with T-Mobile. But imagine a Galaxy Tab for less than $250, without a contract, or a Xoom for $350, or a PlayBook or TouchPad for less than the iPad -- but now I'm back into "want" again...
Now let me be honest here -- I want the Apple iPad 2. I also want the Motorola Xoom. I'm confident that I will want the Blackberry PlayBook and the HP TouchPad once they are fully available. I like new gadgets (like many of you).
But "want" doesn't equal "need" -- and I am truly comfortable with the Galaxy Tab. In fact, I am more comfortable with it than I was with the first iPad. It's simply a better fit for my smallish hands -- I love that I can easily hold it in one hand while tapping, writing (I love Swype!), or reading while eating lunch. Android is way behind Apple for apps, but has more than enough to meet my needs and desires. It is ultra-easy to carry around, but large enough for use.
The Galaxy Tab is by no means perfect -- it desperately needs the ability to stream Netflix and other video. It needs to be faster. And it needs to be LESS EXPENSIVE -- to successfully compete with the iPad, Android tablets need to sell for less than the iPad. This morning, I saw the Tab offered for $249.99, but that's with a 2-year contract with T-Mobile. But imagine a Galaxy Tab for less than $250, without a contract, or a Xoom for $350, or a PlayBook or TouchPad for less than the iPad -- but now I'm back into "want" again...
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Music Magazines I Miss
My thoughts turned this morning to two wonderful music magazines that passed away years ago -- a loss for me, personally, and for many with similar interests:
FRETS magazine was was the acoustic fretted instrument interest magazine published by G.P.I., publisher of Guitar Player, Bass Player, and Keyboard, that sadly ceased appearing in the late 1980's. I know there are many instrument-specific magazines available today, but for those of us who play (or try to play) more than one instrument (in my case, guitar, mandolin, and octave mandolin), FRETS provided just what we wanted -- variety, creativity, and outstanding artist/writers...who better to present Mandolin lessons than David Grisman?
DIRTY LINEN was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. That brought knowledge, passion, and humor (!) to its profiles and reviews of music. For those of us who loved contemporary folk, folk-rock, world, and what-have-you from the U.S., UK, and across the globe, each issue of Dirty Linen was a joyous gift to our musical senses. The magazine disappeared last year, and those responsible for its death are to be condemned for their senseless act.
Do you miss these magazines? Others? And what print/on-line resources do you recommend today?
FRETS magazine was was the acoustic fretted instrument interest magazine published by G.P.I., publisher of Guitar Player, Bass Player, and Keyboard, that sadly ceased appearing in the late 1980's. I know there are many instrument-specific magazines available today, but for those of us who play (or try to play) more than one instrument (in my case, guitar, mandolin, and octave mandolin), FRETS provided just what we wanted -- variety, creativity, and outstanding artist/writers...who better to present Mandolin lessons than David Grisman?
DIRTY LINEN was a bi-monthly magazine of folk and world music based in Baltimore, Maryland. That brought knowledge, passion, and humor (!) to its profiles and reviews of music. For those of us who loved contemporary folk, folk-rock, world, and what-have-you from the U.S., UK, and across the globe, each issue of Dirty Linen was a joyous gift to our musical senses. The magazine disappeared last year, and those responsible for its death are to be condemned for their senseless act.
Do you miss these magazines? Others? And what print/on-line resources do you recommend today?
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
Public Diplomacy Corner
I have spent most of my life as a Public Diplomacy specialist, first with the U.S. Information Agency (USIA) and then the Department of State. I've had the pleasure and honor of working in the Middle East, East Asia, Europe, and Washington -- yet most people I meet (even in my own family) aren't sure what Public Diplomacy is and what I actually do.
So -- what is the job of Public Diplomacy (or "PD," as we often call it). For the United States, let's start with the Mission Statement for Public Diplomacy, from the Department of State:
So -- what is the job of Public Diplomacy (or "PD," as we often call it). For the United States, let's start with the Mission Statement for Public Diplomacy, from the Department of State:
The mission of American public diplomacy is to support the achievement of U.S. foreign policy goals and objectives, advance national interests, and enhance national security by informing and influencing foreign publics and by expanding and strengthening the relationship between the people and government of the United States and citizens of the rest of the world.
How is this done? Through a variety of programs and activities, including communications with international audiences, educational and professional exchanges, student advising, English teaching, and on-line and broadcast media engagement.
For more on Public Diplomacy, I invite you to follow me on Twitter, at @PD_Dan, for regular items on the world of PD.
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